Note: This look at Chelsea Green’s history incorporates previous reporting by Kristen Ancillotti, Mark Nimar, & Scott Stiffler.

Email Friends of Chelsea Green at ChelseaGreenPark@gmail.com to join their mailing list. On Instagram: @chelseagreennyc.

BY SCOTT STIFFLER | It was 5 years ago this week—July 25, 2019—when the photo seen directly above was taken. Seconds later, the proud line of electeds, NYC officials, and longtime local advocates would use the pair of scissors held in each of their hands to cut, in coordinated fashion, the bright green ribbon running the length of their group.

And with that traditional act of Grand Opening pomp, Chelsea Green made its public debut. Operating under the auspices of NYC’s Dept. of Parks & Recreation, its arrival at 140 West 20th Street provided a welcome corrective to this patch of Chelsea’s dead last ranking on NYC’s list of open space and parks within a half-mile of residents.

Located mid-block between Sixth and Seventh Aves., the new leisure and play destination would, over time, expand its capacity to engage and unite thanks largely to events programming from Friends of Chelsea Green. Many members of the indefatigable group were among those on board for all of the nearly decade-long process necessary to secure, fund, construct, and debut the mighty micro park.

In the project’s early phase, circa 2010, the location of choice emerged when the New York City Dept. of Sanitation relocated from its presence on West 20th St. The now-vacant lot was a study in gritty gravel, well-worn fencing, and scattered debris.

But how, exactly, did this become a park? Chelsea Green’s listing page on the NYC Parks website (click here to access it) provides much insight, in a section called, conveniently enough, “How did this become a park?” The section reads:

“In 2010, the Friends of 20th Street Park formed to advocate for green space in their community. The DSNY facility site was in a prime location to give the community between Fifth and Eighth Avenues a park within ten-minutes’ walking distance. In 2015, the land was transferred to NYC Parks. With support from over 4,000 residents and various community groups including the Council of Chelsea Block Associations, New Yorkers for Parks, Save Chelsea, Flatiron Alliance, NYC Park Advocates, and many local politicians, Chelsea Green became a reality. This quarter-acre community hub… features an engaging play area with shaded seating and a lawn made from synthetic turf. In keeping with the artistic nature of the neighborhood, an area of the park is a dedicated space for performances and displays of public art.” The section concludes by noting that upon its opening in 2019, Chelsea Green’s 10,000-square-foot footprint represented “the first new park built in the Chelsea neighborhood in 40 years.” largely due to “grassroots efforts from a tight-knit community.”

To date, those efforts have included many memorable one-off presentations, a popular series of music concerts and artmaking activities led by local talent, Storytime events presented in cooperation with the New York Public Library, and two annual happenings (themed to Springtime and Halloween) that have proven enormously popular, especially among the park’s toddler-to-tween set. (This lucky group of kids never knew a time when there wasn’t a park within a short distance of their homes.)

Of course the park is still in its own early stage–past the “toddler” years, but with plenty of growing to do. On the occasion of Chelsea Green at five, Chelsea Community News reached out to two founding board members of the “Friends” and asked for their thoughts on this rare alignment of shared vision and effort among so many local residents, businesspeople, City departments, and elected officials.

Said Matt Weiss, Emeritus Board Member, Friends of Chelsea Green: “The evolution of 20th Street Park to Chelsea Green over the past 5 years has been incredibly gratifying to watch. The seamless way this green space has been embraced by—and enmeshed into—the community serves as an ever-present reminder of the vital role that public open space, fresh air, and recreational programming plays in contributing to health and happiness of this once park-starved part of Chelsea. Its creation and growth has been one of the most fulfilling endeavors I’ve ever been a part of—and I look forward, with immense pride, to watching Chelsea Green continue to flourish over the next 5 years and beyond!”

Said Sally Greenspan, Emeritus Board Member, Friends of Chelsea Green: “The Chelsea Green jewel in the middle of the 100 West 20th Street block was the original Participatory Budgeting winner in our Council District 3 community. It is true: If you build it, they will come. Since the time when the park was a mere idea, just a rendering on a piece of paper, Chelsea neighbors were in love with it. They worked together and they rallied to make it a reality. Today, Chelsea Green echoes with the sound of laughter. Families come for birthday party celebrations. School groups gather to play in the fresh air. Music, dancing, and storytelling events take place, sponsored by the Friends of Chelsea Green. And people show up just to hang out. Being part of the leadership that made this happen is one of my proudest accomplishments and I am forever grateful to our local elected officials, whose support made it possible. Chelsea Green at five years old is going strong and getting better all the time—a community dream that came true.”

Some background info regarding Greenspan’s reference to Participatory Budgeting: As a ballot item, the notion of funding the park via “PB” money drawn from the District 3 NYC Council Member’s discretionary budget translated into an avalanche of votes. “We won by a landslide,” Greenspan told CCNews in 2019, also remarking, “The park received $200,000 from [PB], and then [at the time, District 3 Council Member Corey] Johnson went on to help get the park fully funded, with the city ultimately putting in $5.8 million.”

That the park traced its funding lineage back to District 3’s PB process was not lost on Friends of Chelsea Green or their local City Council Member. Less than three months after its July 25 debut, Participatory Budgeting Cycle #9 began, befittingly, at Chelsea Green (click here for our coverage of the September 29, 2019 event). Of that PB kickoff, CCNews reporter Mark Nimar wrote: “Although community members had many differing opinions about how to spend the money allocated for their district, they all got to have their say. Representatives from many different city agencies, including the New York City Housing Authority and The New York Public Library, were present at the meeting. These representatives sat at a line of desks inside the park, allowing community members to walk up to them directly and voice their opinions.”

In 2021, our “Scenes from a Chelsea Green Halloween” reporting noted a strong entry in what has since become an annual happening so well-attended that its vendors, activities, and costumed celebrants flow out onto the sidewalk, up and down the block. Indeed, the 2021 event saw nearly 400 at its participatory apex. Below, see a sampling of photos from our post-Chelsea Green Halloween coverage. To access the article (and many more fine photos), click here.

Not to be outdone, 2022’s Halloween event, we noted in our reporting, “hosted over 600 neighbors at the Haunted Circus Halloween event, inside and on the outskirts. Families enjoyed circus-themed stilt walkers, jugglers, and other crowd-pleasers. Kids engaged in arts and crafts in the park, while local area businesses and organizations lined the street, providing more activities and giveaways. As expected, the seemingly endless supply of candy was a big hit with all ages! This was the third annual Halloween event for the park, and the first-ever block party.” Below, see a sampling of photos from the event. For more, click here to access our coverage.

PHOTOS BELOW BY HEATHER KUH

PHOTOS BELOW BY LOLITA CIPRIANO

PHOTOS BELOW BY DIANNA MAEURER

May 15, 2022’s ‘Spring Fling’ event served as a sort of return to form for programming in the park, after so much downtime due to COVID-related precautions. CCNews’ May 19 report  (click here to read it in full) noted the extent to which the event was an expression not only of springtime’s theme of renewal, but of the strong connections forged between the park and others in the neighborhood who pitched in to help make it happen. Noted Friends of Chelsea Green’s Michael Walsh: “We had an underwriter, a family that uses the park [Kate Rhee (a State Farm Insurance Agent)] that allowed us to get the music and the performers. GrowNYC, a non-profit, supplied the plants for our crafts activity, and Motel Morris did the coffee—and the food truck [Pedacito de Mexico], they’re usually parked at Sixth Ave. and West 20th, but we were thrilled when they said they’d move locations just for the day, to be part of our event.”

The Commons Chelsea, Rind Snacks, Milk Bar, and several individual volunteers also contributed time and materials, along with performers from Kids at Work, an early childhood programming organization located on the same block as Chelsea Green Park. “Julie was a supporter back when we weren’t even a park yet,” Walsh said, of “Kids” founder Julie Averill. Placed at well-spaced stations throughout the gated West 20th Street park, visitors could hear jazz and bluegrass from The Dennis Lichtman Trio; watch a craftsman from OMG Bubbles send his translucent creations skyward.

Last year, Friends of Chelsea Green gained recognition for their positive contribution to the neighborhood, in the form of musical programming. As noted in our August 11, 2023 article Friends of Chelsea Green’s Grant Guarantees Music in the Air at W. 20th St. Park (click here to access it), the Friends were one of the West Side Community Fund grant winners–recognized, said a WSCF press release, as having “critical services” to offer. The grant ended up funding musical programming throughout the summer and well into the fall. Below, see some of the other performance events representing the well-curated series’ range…

August, 2023: Local talent (and well-traveled international jazz ambassador) Ginetta Vendetta gave a concert in the park, alongside “Ginetta’s Vendetta” combo? (Click on this link for the origin story of how the combo and its leader got their catchy names). Critically acclaimed “triple threat female powerhouse” Ginetta plays pocket trumpet, composes, and sings.

September 2023: A solo performance from Leah Coloff. Among the selections for this all-ages performance were classical works, standards, and contemporary pop tune. Attending, we noted in this preview listing, “is a great way to continue or cultivate a love for the deeply expressive cello. Capable of conveying much more than melancholy, the cello—in the hands of singer/composer Coloff—has been deployed in the performances and/or recordings of Philip Glass, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Rufus Wainwright, Linda Thompson, and Nancy Sinatra. It’s no wonder Coloff has been described (by the New York Times, no less!) as ‘a combination of artful angularity and rock-infused assertiveness.’ To visit the artist’s website, click here.”

And that brings us to current–or, more accuratly, to the future. Here’s the latest musical programming offering, set to take place one week from publication of the article you’re reading right now:

The Rhythms of Carnival: A Cuban Musical Adventure

Sunday, August 4, 5:30pm

At Chelsea Green Park (140 West 20th St. btw. 6th & 7th Aves.)

Friends of Chelsea Green and Worlds Arts East invite you to take a musical journey featuring the Cuban rhythms of cha cha, mambo, Cuban son, conga, and more. Cuban musical maestro Chino Pons leads the band (Grupo Irek ) and director/choreographer Erica Olivares Bowen leads the audience in a Cuban-inspired Carnival procession.

And that concludes our grateful look back at the first five years of Chelsea Green. A true corrective to what was once a slice of park-starved Chelsea, its creation may seem unlikely to those from the outside looking in–but for those in the know (including you, having seen all we’ve documented in this piece), its presence on West 20th Street seemed only a matter of time, once a few motivated Chelsea residents looked at a vacant lot and saw the future…

Okay, we take back that “And that concludes” opening of the above paragraph. We didn’t want to wrap thing up without acknowledging another aspect of Chelsea Green’s appeal: Its visual appeal. Below, find a sampling of the well-done promotional flyers used to spread awareness of upcoming events in the park. Kudos to the designers!

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Note: This editorial content was made possible, in part, by a 2024 pledge of financial support from Chelsea Market.

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